ISLAM HATES YOU

Islam teaches a standard worldview towards non-Muslims. No religion hates or loves, but their characters do. Are Muslims to take a hateful, aggressive, and domineering approach, or a kind, loving, and considerate approach towards non-Muslims? Or is the answer somewhere in between?1

Understanding The Islamic worldview towards non-Muslims.

There are millions of Muslims worldwide who are great people. They are caring, loving, and giving. They are excellent citizens and great neighbors. I personally know far too many good and decent Muslims to characterize them in a malevolent fashion. Conversely, I know there are millions of Muslims worldwide who support terrorism and oppression to advance the Kingdom of Allah, Muhammad’s kingdom, as the world’s rule and authority.2 These people continue to spill Muslim and non-Muslim blood throughout the world. In some Muslim countries the majority oppose Islamic terrorism, in other Muslim countries the majority supports some type of force or violence because its aim is to further Islam’s domination.3

Obviously it would be foolish to try to determine if Islam’s Allah, (when I use the word “Allah” I am referring to Islam’s God, when I use “God” I am referring to Christianity’s God), loves or hates non-Muslims based on the intra-contradictory attitudes and actions of Muslims worldwide. We need to use the Islamic source materials, the Quran, hadith, and sira, to identify Muhammad’s position on this question. Muhammad was the greatest Muslim who ever lived and Muslims are commanded to obey his word and imitate his example. Therefore we must use Muhammad, his teachings and actions, identified in the Islamic source materials, in their appropriate context, as our primary reference.

The question becomes: What was Muhammad’s final position on how Muslims should view and approach non-Muslims?

A follow-up question is: How does his final position shape today’s Islamic worldview?

The goal here is to identify Islam’s final worldview for its spiritual and physical approach towards non-Muslims. This study is based upon a composite of the Islamic source material’s, (the Quran, hadith, and sira), which form Islam’s theological foundation. We will also review historical writings covering the first years after Muhammad’s death because they exemplify Muhammad’s commands for the Islamic approach towards non-Muslims and we’ll consult the work of some great Muslim theological scholars.

We will also examine actual examples of Muhammad’s engagement with non-Muslims. Muhammad was a man of action. He not only talked the Islamic talk, he walked the Islamic walk. If there is a standardized Islamic approach towards non-Muslims then there should exist a correlation between Muhammad’s words, (Islam’s tenets), and his actions. The saying, “Actions speak louder than words” is appropriate here, and a correlation must be proven.

Examining Muhammad’s teachings and actions relative to his engagements with non-Muslims should show us his primary, and final, approach. Doesn’t this sound like an intelligent, logical, and fair way to investigate this topic?

Muhammad’s final position on how Muslims should view and approach non-Muslims

Muhammad’s attitude towards non-Muslims changed over time. The biographical literature, tells us that he had a wide variety of interactions with many non-Muslims during his life. His attitude was not always, “I love you brother, let’s embrace!” Nor was it, “I hate you infidel, die!” No, his attitude changed and varied depending on occasion, participants, and his status. However, it did standardize during his last few years, changing as he gained martial power. Consequently, I will start the answer with an event that occurred near the middle of Muhammad’s 23 year ministry, instead of at its beginning, because this event was the catalyst for the hardening of his final position.4

Allah’s permission for violence.

Islam’s spiritual approach translates into the physical approach.

The order to fight

The greatest change within the theology of Islam occurred when Allah gave Muhammad a specific command, known as “The Order to Fight.” This command is based on these Quranic verses: Sura 22:39-41 and 2:193.5

Verse 22:39 allows violence in self-defense while 2:193 allows violence to force Islam upon others, “religion should be only for Allah.” More on this shortly.

Muhammad received this command while he lived in Mecca, shortly before he fled to Medina. The year was 621/622 A.D. Up to this point Muhammad and the Muslims were very weak. Had they attempted any form of violence the Quraysh would have crushed them and killed Muhammad. Fortunately, Allah had wisely commanded Muhammad not to be violent (10:99). However, just before Muhammad received the order to fight a company of experienced fighting men from Medina pledged their swords to defend and fight for Muhammad.6 This event was known as “the second pledge of Aqabah.” They understood that Muhammad and Islam were to reign supreme and they actually pledged to fight the entire world for Muhammad’s sake.7 Since Muhammad’s physical circumstances had changed Allah changed his commands to fit. Now fighting was allowed and commanded.

This event signified a new beginning for Muhammad. The rules of the game had changed in a 180° direction. In Mecca he was a peaceful "warner," in Medina, he was the violent warrior. Before, he was not allowed to spill blood; now he was commanded to spill blood. Before, his spirituality was to endure ridicule and persecution; now his spirituality told him to pick up the sword and persecute non-Muslims and force them to submit to Islam.

Ibn Ishaq’s sira provides the context and background for this order:

"THE APOSTLE RECEIVES THE ORDER TO FIGHT

"The apostle had not been given permission to fight or allowed to shed blood before the second Aqaba. He had simply been ordered to call men to God and to endure insult and forgive the ignorant."…When they are in the ascendant they will establish prayer, pay the poor-tax, enjoin kindness, and forbid iniquity, i.e., the prophet and his companions all of them." Then God sent down to him: "Fight them so that there be no more seduction," [b] i.e. until no believer is seduced from his religion. "And the religion is God's," i.e. Until God alone is worshipped."8

Note that a stipulation is “when they are in the ascendant.” Muhammad was intelligent enough to know that when he was out-gunned he could not force Islam upon people. But later, if he had grown strong enough, then he was to force Islam upon others. You see this principle operating in the Islamic world today.

This abrupt theological change is allowed for in Islamic theology. It is known as “abrogation.” This event represents the biggest abrogation of all within Islamic theology. Thus the “Order to Fight” presents us with a theological foundation and a clear backdrop with which to understand Muhammad’s final posture towards non-Muslims. Allah abrogated his previous commands of non-violence to Muhammad and now commanded Muhammad to use violence when necessary to spread Islam’s rule.

Regarding this passage, the Commentary (tafsir) of a great Muslim scholar, Ibn Kathir, elaborates on the use of violence to spread Islam’s domain:

Then Allah orders Muslims to kill the disbelievers “until there is no more Fitnah.” According to Ibn Abbas and others, “Fitnah” means polytheism, “And religion (worship), is for Allah” meaning Allah’s religion should stand supreme and overshadowing the rest of the religions. In the Sahihayn, it is reported that the Prophet said: “I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight the people till they say: “None has the right to be worshipped by Allah, and whoever says it will save his life and property from me except on breaking the law (rights and conditions for which he will be punished justly), and his accounts will be with Allah””.9

Muhammad understood this command to violence clearly

Muhammad commented on this command to fight:

Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah.10

Not long after the “order to fight” was given Muhammad fled to Medina. Immediately he began to use violence to exert his power and take advantage of others. He began to attack, kill, and plunder non-Muslim Arab tribes and trade caravans.11

Muhammad’s violence started out small: raids on defenseless trade caravans, assassinations, and attacks upon small pagan Arab tribes, but grew into the expulsions, mass enslavements, and wholesale massacres of hundreds of prisoners. Eventually Muhammad began to send out armies of thousands to fight non-Muslims and this culminated into wholesale subjection of regions and tribes via force or intimidation. Before he died Muhammad had sent out a large expeditionary force to fight some 400 miles away (see the battle of Mutah).

Obeying Allah was Muhammad’s primary motivation. Allah changed the command from nonviolence to violence to subject people to Islam. Muhammad walked the walk and put action behind Allah’s command. Understand Muhammad. He believed that Allah had commanded him to fight, kill, and conquer those that rejected him. Allah commanded, he obeyed.

Islamic conquest was to continue until the entire world was subjected to Islam.

Some people have argued that Muhammad’s commands to violence were limited in scope: they pertained only to the people near the Muslims who were fighting them. This is wrong. Muhammad wanted his followers to fight until the last day.

The end of Muhammad’s raid at Tabuk highlights this. Following that raid some Muslims thought mistakenly that jihad was over and they began to sell their weapons. Muhammad learned of this and forbid them from selling them, and said, “A group from my community will continue to strive for the truth until Dajjal arrives.”12

A deeper examination of the “Order to Fight”

Let’s take a deeper look at the “Order to Fight.” It underlines Muhammad’s worldview towards non-Muslims. Two key points need to be understood.

Point 1) Establishment and identification of “the other.”Point 2) Having “the other” submit to Muhammad’s rule

Point 1) Establishment and identification of “the other.”

This command establishes a spiritual and a physical separation, a classification, between Muslim and non-Muslim. It is a one side or the other, a “You are either with us or against us” distinction. Muhammad was commanded to physically fight against those who were not with him. This is a spiritual, cultural, and physical war.

Some scholars describe this separation as Islam’s “House of Islam,” (Dar al-Islam), and “House of War,” (Dar al-Harb).

This segregation, the identification of “the other,” was initiated by Allah. It is part of Islam’s theological bedrock and it extends to family members. Verses 60:3,4 use the example of Abraham as a standard for Muslims to embrace and imitate in their posture towards non-Muslims.

Your ties of kindred and your children will avail you naught upon the Day of Resurrection. He will part you. Allah is Seer of what ye do. There is a goodly pattern for you in Abraham and those with him, when they told their folk: Lo! we are guiltless of you and all that ye worship beside Allah. We have done with you. And there hath arisen between us and you hostility and hate for ever until ye believe in Allah only- save that which Abraham promised his father (when he said): I will ask forgiveness for thee, though I own nothing for thee from Allah - Our Lord! In Thee we put our trust, and unto Thee we turn repentant, and unto Thee is the journeying. 60:3,4 13

You can also reference Frontpage magazine’s article on this topic: ISLAM HATES YOU14 Raymond Ibrahim does an excellent job reviewing the details of Islam’s hatred of non-Muslims.

David Bukay, writing at the Middle East Quarterly, quotes Bernard Lewis’s strong statement on this theme of “the other”:

Even one's relatives should not be taken as friends if they are not Muslim. As Bernard Lewis has put it:

Islam is still the ultimate criterion of group identity and loyalty. It is Islam that distinguishes between self and other, between insider and outsider, between brother and stranger … the ultimate definition of the other, the alien outsider and presumptive enemy, has been the kafir [infidel].15

The Islamic distinction of “the other” also requires that Muslims disavow any loyalty with non-Muslims. Once a person is Muslim his first loyalty is to be given to Islam’s cause and his fellow Muslims. Two examples of this breaking, perhaps betrayal, of bonds of friendship occurred during Muhammad’s rise to power in Medina.

Example a) Breaking the bonds with the Jews of the Qaynuqa tribe.

There was a minor conflict in Medina between some Jews and Muslims. Muhammad used that as a pretense to attack the Jews. Eventually the Jews surrendered and Muhammad intended to massacre the males and enslave the women and children. However, a Pagan interceded on the Jew’s behalf and physically confronted Muhammad. Muhammad backed down but he expelled the Jews from Medina.

Many of the Muslims before their conversion to Islam were formal allies with these Jews. When challenged about their betrayal one of the Muslims said,

Example b) A similar conflict occurred with the Jews of the Nadhir tribe.

Muhammad received a revelation from Allah that these Jews were going to try to kill him, so he attacked them. Eventually he expelled them from Medina. One of them asked how the Muslims who were their former allies could betray them, and a Muslim responded:

"Hearts have changed," he replied, "and Islam has wiped out the old covenants."17

This first loyalty breaks or takes priority over any other bonds, commitments, citizenship, or pledges, if Islam is infringed upon. Islam comes first.

Point 2) Having “the other” submit to Muhammad’s rule

The “order to fight” instructed Muhammad to force the non-Muslim world (the other) to submit to his rule because Allah’s kingdom was to be of and on this earth. This makes Islam not only a spiritual faith but equally a geo-political faith as well. Islam is a religion with integral civil, martial, and geo-political commands and regulations. Allah wanted Muhammad to spread his dominion over all and his command authorized, endorsed, and encouraged war to be made on non-Muslims if they refused to submit.

9:33 He it is Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that He might cause it to prevail over all religions, though the polytheists may be averse.18

7:158 Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."19

Having classified non-Muslims as “the other” Allah gave instructions on how the Muslims were to deal with non-Muslim. This included using aggressive violence. The Order to Fight, its classification of “the other,” and the command to violence, runs us straight into these questions.

Question: Why did Allah command Muhammad to use violence to spread Islam’s rule? “Why couldn’t Allah have instructed Muhammad to continue to be peaceable, as God commanded Christians?”

Answer: Allah regards those who do not believe in Him, or who believe in false gods, as evil, as friends of Allah’s enemies. Therefore Allah hates them. The use of violence is allowed after the non-Muslims have heard the message of Islam and rejected it. If they reject the peaceful offer to accept Islam then they are to be fought to submit to Allah’s rule. Here are a selection of verses which reflect this, (all quotes are from Shakir’s Quran unless otherwise noted, bold and underline are mine):

In the manner of the people of Firon and those before them; they rejected the communications of their Lord, therefore We destroyed them on account of their faults and We drowned Firon's people, and they were all unjust. Surely the vilest of animals in Allah's sight are those who disbelieve, then they would not believe. 8:54, 55

Those who believe fight in the way of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of the Shaitan. Fight therefore against the friends of the Shaitan; surely the strategy of the Shaitan is weak. 4:76

Then as to those who disbelieve, I will chastise them with severe chastisement in this world and the hereafter, and they shall have no helpers. And as to those who believe and do good deeds, He will pay them fully their rewards; and Allah does not love the unjust. 3:56, 57

Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults, and Allah is Forgiving, MercifuL Say: Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers. 3:31, 32

O Prophet! strive hard against the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be unyielding to them; and their abode is hell, and evil is the destination. Allah has promised the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women and the unbelievers the fire of hell to abide therein; it is enough for them; and Allah has cursed them and they shall have lasting punishment.…therefore if they repent, it will be good for them; and if they turn back, Allah will chastise them with a painful chastisement in this world and the hereafter, and they shall not have in the land any guardian or a helper. 9:73, 74

O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil). 9:123

One of the strongest verses regarding the treatment of non-Muslims is 9:5. You have to read the entire passage to understand the context of what Muhammad intended.20

So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 9:5

These verses are Allah’s/Muhammad’s command for dealing with the pagan non-Muslims in the Hijaz (Muhammad’s home state). The Muslims are to offer Islam to the Pagans. If they refuse to submit and accept Muhammad as their prophet then once the sacred months were completed the Muslims were to make wholesale war upon them. No quarter was to be given.

Here is a quote from the “Tafsir of Ibn Kathir”, on the related passage.

But if they repent and perform the Salah, and give the Zakah, then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq used this and other honorable Ayat (verse or passage) as proof for fighting those who refrained from paying the Zakah. These Ayat allowed fighting people unless, and until, they embrace Islam and implement its ruling and obligations.21

These previous verses and scholar’s comments highlight Allah’s, and Muhammad’s, hatred for non-believers, apostates, and Muslim hypocrites. Muhammad intended to humiliate them and subject them to his rule.

The context of Muhammad’s commands extends warfare against all non-Muslims.

Islam’s condemnation extends to Christians

Islam’s definition of “the other” blankets Christianity and Judaism as well. Although various Islamic texts speak well of Christians and Jews, others denigrate and castigate them. Ultimately they were “the other” and were to be subjected to Islam’s rule, and humiliated by the Muslims. This is because these faiths were viewed as inferior, lacking, and in error. Here is the Quran:

He it is Who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it conqueror of all religion however much idolaters may be averse. 61:9 22

They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary." But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord." Whoever joins other gods with Allah,- Allah will forbid him the garden, and the Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help. 5:72 23

Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be humbled. The Jews say, ‘Ezra (Ozair) is a son of God’, and the Christians say, ‘The Messiah is a son of God’ Such the sayings in their mouths! They resemble the saying of the Infidels of old! God do battle with them! How are they misguided! 9:29, 30 24

Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three; and there is no god but the one Allah, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve. 5:73 25

Islam is not willing to be a peaceful religion. It has the goal of conquering all religions into acceptance or subordination. This is why there is so much violence in Islam. The Sunnis are killing the Shia and the Shia are killing the Sunnis. Both types are killing other ¨heretical¨ Muslim groups. The killing of Copts in Egypt has been a result of the drive for conquest. The killing of Christians in Africa, the Middle East, and other Islamic countries has the aim of eradicating Christians or forcing their conversion to Islam.

A significant comment on subjection of Christians and Jews comes from the “Reliance of the Traveller.” This book is a Shafi’i manual of Islamic law

The Caliph makes war upon the Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax Jizya…in accordance with the word of Allah Most High:

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not what Allah and Hiss messenger have forbidden – who do not practice the religion of truth, being of those who have been give the Book – until they pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled.” 9:29

While the Quran offers some flowers of praise for Christians its overall tone is negative.

Conclusion on the Islamic source materials’ teaching on Islam’s final worldview of non-Muslims.

The Quran presents a substantial amount of material establishing Allah’s hatred towards unbelievers. The verses quoted above align chronologically with “the order to fight,” i.e. they all occurred during the Medinan time period and followed “the order to fight.” The Islamic seeds of rejection, condemnation, and separation from the “other” existed in Mecca early on. Then the “order to fight” changed Islamic theology significantly just prior to Muhammad’s flight to Medina. The seeds finished growing and bore the fruit of violence in Medina as Muhammad grew in power. It was in Medina that true Islam, real Islam, Muhammad’s Islam, revealed its true nature.

This theme of “the other” that is to be subjected to Islam, is the under-girding principle for Islam’s approach towards non-Muslims. Muslims are to approach non-Muslims with the offer to accept Islam. If the Muslims are militarily weak, then they are to remain peaceful and persistent in their proclamation of Islam. If the Muslims are militarily strong then they are to use force to make non-Muslims submit. Daniel Pipes, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and others, identify these two contradictory types of Islam as “Meccan or Medinan Islam. Throughout the hundreds of years since Muhammad this theme and this approach occur over and over, again and again and again, as Muslims interact with non-Muslims. You see this occurring throughout the Islamic world today in how the Muslim abuse the non-Muslim minorities. The more Islamic a nation or region is, i.e. the more Muslims practice Muhammad’s Islam, the greater the abuse of “the other.”

MUHAMMAD’S ACTIONS CORROBORATING HIS WORDS

Earlier I said “If there is a standardized Islamic approach towards non-Muslims then there should exist a correlation between Muhammad’s words, (Islam’s tenets), and his actions.” The saying, “Actions speak louder than words” is appropriate here. Now we’ll review a very short list of Muhammad’s and the early Muslim’s actions to see how they correlate.

Muhammad had one consistent approach: confrontation and the use of violence when deemed necessary.

I am not going to go into detail about the consistent and growing series of attacks that persisted from Muhammad’s arrival up to his death, but here is a small chronological outline. You can find references to all of these in Tabari’s History volumes 7, 8, 9, and 10.27

AH 1) First raids against caravans and non-Muslim Arab tribes.AH 2) Muhammad starts war with the Quraysh, attacks the Banu Qaynuqa Jews.AH3) Murder of Kab Ashraf, continued attacks upon various peoples.AH 4) Attack on the Banu Nadhir Jews, continued attacks on various tribes.AH 5) Continued attacks on Arab pagans, massacre of the Banu Qurayza Jews.AH 6) Continued attacks on Arab pagan tribes, rape of female slaves permitted.AH 7) Attack and enslavement of the Khaybar Jews, torture of Kinana.AH 8) Attacks on Arab pagan tribes, expedition to Mu’tah, conquest of Mecca.AH 9) Expedition to Tabuk, subjection of the Christians of Aylah.

Critical Example of Muhammad in action during AH 9.

Not far from Tabuk, was the small Christian fishing village of Aylah, a port at the head of the Red Sea. Different Muslim historians record similar details concerning the communication between Muhammad and the leaders of Aylah. In sum, Muhammad issued an injunction against the Christian village. Read it carefully and notice how it corresponds to 9:29:

"To John ibn Rabah and the Chiefs of Aylah. Peace be on you! I praise God for you, beside whom there is no Lord. I will not fight against you until I have written thus unto you. Believe, or else pay tribute. And be obedient unto the Lord and his Prophet, and the messengers of his Prophet. Honour them and clothe them with excellent vestments, not with inferior raiment. Specially clothe Zeid with excellent garments. As long as my messengers are pleased, so likewise am I. Ye know the tribute. If ye desire to have security by sea and by land, obey the Lord and his Apostle, and he will defend you from every claim, whether by Arab or foreigner, saving the claim of the Lord and his Apostle. But if ye oppose and displease them, I will not accept from you a single thing, until I have fought against you and taken captive your little ones and slain the elder. For I am the Apostle of the Lord in truth. Believe in the Lord and in his Prophets, and in the Messiah, son of Mary; verily he is the Word of God: I believe in him that he was a messenger of God. Come then, before trouble reach you. I commend my messengers to you. Give to Harmala three measures of barley. And indeed Harmala hath interceded for you. As for me, if it were not for the Lord and for this (intercession), I would not have sent any message at all unto you, until ye had seen the army. But now, if ye obey my messengers, God will be your protector, and Mahomet, and whosoever belongeth unto him. Now my messengers are Sharahbil and Obey, and Harmala and Horeith ibn Zeid. Unto you is the guarantee of God and of Mahomet his Apostle, and peace be unto you if ye submit. And convey the people of Macna back to their land."28

Do you see how Muhammad’s words to Aylah parallel is words in the Quran (9:29)? Accept Islam’s rule peacefully, or be killed and your women and children enslaved.

Following Muhammad’s death the subsequent Caliphs continued their wars of aggression against non-Muslims, be they Christian, Jew, or pagan. These men knew Muhammad best and they continued to follow his commands.

You get the point. Palestine, Persia, Iraq, and Egypt all fell quickly to the attacking Muslim armies who exhorted the non-Muslims, “Accept Islam and you will be safe.”

Islam’s history tells us that violence, war, attacks and plundering, enslavement, rape, and assassinations were Muhammad’s norm for his community.

CONCLUSION: THE ISLAMIC WORLDVIEW: ISLAM HATES YOU

Muhammad’s commands and teachings found in the Quran, hadith, and sira, are corroborated by his actions detailed in the Quran, hadith, and sira. His words and his actions go hand in hand. Separately, or together, the Islamic worldview says that you are “the other” and that if you reject submitting to Muhammad/Allah, then you are Allah’s enemy and are to be fought until you die, or submit to Islam.

Throughout the world today, true and dedicated Muslims are forcing Islam upon non-Muslims in many ways. Violence is a prominent feature of their work. Allah ordained that Islam must reign supreme, that his kingdom was to be established on earth, and those on earth who resist are to be physically punished.

Muhammad’s words and actions are not the actions of a man focused on peace, but rather of a man focused on conquest. Islam hates you. Observe the plight of the non-Muslims in Muslim majority countries to see, and hear, real Islam’s worldview.

In Christ,

Silas 5/14/2017

Footnotes

1 I read a NYT article with “I Think Islam Hates Us” as the title. That gave me the idea for this article’s title. It was a shallow article and I believed that the importance of Muhammad’s worldview toward non-Muslims needed truthful details presented.

4 Muhammad lived in Mecca for about 13 years and was fairly non-violent there, however, the last 10 years of his life, where he was very violent, were spent in Medina.

5 You can read about the order to fight in Guillaume, A., "The Life of Muhammad", a translation of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah", Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan pages 212, 213, and al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", State University of New York Press volume 6, pages 137-139, and Ibn Kathir, "Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya", "The Life of the Prophet Muhammad", translated by Trevor Le Gassick volume 2, page 144.

[NOTE: Other Islamic scholars identify other verses comprising this order, however, they mirror these verses. I’ve chosen this set because this is what Ibn Ishaq identified in his sira. See Guillaume, A., "The Life of Muhammad", a translation of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah", Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, pp 212, 213.]

6 Guillaume, A., "The Life of Muhammad", a translation of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah", Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 208 – 212, and al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", State University of New York Press volume 6, pages 130 – 137.

7 al-Tabari, "The History of al-Tabari", State University of New York Press volume 6, page 134.